Ulster Unionist Finance Spokesperson, Philip Smith MLA, has said that the latest revelations at the Irish Public Accounts Committee, that £15m was to be paid for services including ‘access to the Northern Ireland Executive’, are shocking.
The comments were made by a representative of the purchaser of the Northern Ireland NAMA portfolio Cerberus about fees to be paid to Brown Rudnick, the solicitors involved in the deal.
Philip Smith said:
“These latest revelations raise several fundamental questions. Did Cerberus get what they paid for, and if so who did they meet and when, and lastly what was the outcome of those meetings?
“If the accusations made at the PAC are true it is outrageous that law firms were effectively selling access to Northern Ireland’s Government. The longer this sordid affair runs, and the more revelations that come to light, then the more detail we need from Sammy Wilson and Peter Robinson about their meetings relating to NAMA.
“The Assembly’s Finance Committee have now agreed to undertake a new inquiry to determine whether there was inappropriate political influence or attempted political influence on NAMA’s operations in Northern Ireland and in particular whether there was inappropriate ministerial lobbying to discount the NAMA sale price.
“This latest revelation further confirms the need for this inquiry to get to the bottom of the NAMA scandal. The more revelations, the greater the need to shed light on this whole sordid process to restore public confidence.”